Facebook spokesman Jaime Schopflin has said Facebook “is not building a phone” and their projects include “deeper integrations with some manufacturers… Our view is that almost all experiences would be better if they were social, so integrating deeply into existing platforms and operating systems is a good way to enable this”.
Even with the above statement rumours are still circulating that Facebook might be releasing a “Facebook Phone”. Manufacturers such as INQ and even HTC have been mentioned to be producing the device. One report today stated that an official announcement might come in February during the Mobile World Congress and that Facebook “smartphones will run on tweaked versions of Google Android and bear the social network’s trademark blue color. It will be fully integrated with Facebook contacts, enabling instant voice and data calls, and display Facebook updates and messages on the home screen.”
In addition, BGR has been tipped from somebody who attended a recent focus group that was heavy on the Facebook and social media questions. Here’s some of the details:
– Location aware coupons: you pick main categories of interest. When you’re near any stores that fall into those categories, coupons are pushed to your phone. Basically, it sounds like “Facebook Deals on steroids,” as our tipster elegantly phrased it.
– An always-on GPS service much like Google Latitude that would run in the background. The service would provide automatic “check-ins” and might share your location with friends.
– No local storage (or very little). Everything is cloud based including contacts, media, data, etc.
– Obviously the phone will include a camera, but everything will be uploaded automatically and stored in the cloud.
– A news ticker-style message system: all messages funnel into one mass inbox, sortable by type, but initially unfiltered. There will also be a ticker of some kind that reads off message content as it’s is delivered, regardless of message type.
All very interesting and I’m sure details and hopefully images will eventually leak out.
Source: BGR
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
